Tone Production

By now, many of you have noticed that many saxophone players also play the flute, which is commonly referred to as a “double” in our world. Often, saxophone parts, particularly in big bands, include segments written for the flute, giving composers and arrangers an added color to work with. And in the studio and show […]

Introduction As I discussed in my 2015 NAMM Product Review Part 1, over the past few years, the Silverstein ligatures have become one of the most popular ligatures used by professional players such as Dave Liebman, Jerry Bergonzi, Tony Malaby, Vincent Herring and the list goes on. Sean Yang and May Rhyu over at Silverstein […]

Getting a full, resonant, singing, “fat” sound is the aim of many a saxophonist. For some it means a continuous quest for the right setup. And without a doubt, equipment plays a significant part. Certain horn, neck, mouthpiece and reed combinations help optimize resonance. But no matter what your equipment is, you can always fatten […]

Introduction After having a chance to compare the Claude Lakey Compass ligature to my current setup (Marc Jean ligature) at the 2015 NAMM Show, I asked John Morrison, president of Claude Lakey, if I could spend some more time test-playing this ligature to see how it compares to other ligatures I have played in the […]

Background There has been a lot of buzz around jazz saxophonist Krzysztof Urbanski. Krzysztof has participated in many jazz festivals, concerts, and competitions where he has consistently been awarded 1st place for his musical ability. Most recently Krzysztof became a Julius Keilwerth artist after placing 1st in the 2013 Saxophone Idol International Competition in Chicago, […]

In my time teaching private saxophone lessons, I’ve needed a way to show my students how much control they have over the saxophone, as well as ways to manipulate their airstream to get the sound they want. I have developed this approach to give my students the ability to fix their own problems be it […]

If you’re someone that has been tinkering and experimenting with the altissimo range of your saxophone, then good for you. It’s something we can all use as an important tool for increasing our expressive abilities when playing the sax. If your attempts have been a bit frustrating then I have good news for you… you […]

Introduction D’Addario, the company that produces some of the world’s most popular reeds, including D’Addario Reserve, La Voz, D’Addario Jazz Select, Rico Royal, and Hemke (among others) has finally released a professional-level saxophone mouthpiece for alto called the D’Addario Select Jazz Mouthpiece. Kristen Mckeon, Artist Relations specialist over at D’Addario was nice enough to send me […]